Project Phase 0.5

[Toby_H]

So, I take terrible pictures and hate editing them. My fish room gets tons of glare. I'll get a few later when the sun is not so bright.

I'm in the (very long) process of setting up four 6' long x 2.5' wide @ 2.1' tall 234 gallon Aquariums I bought from GlassCages.Com . They've been stored in the garage for over a year as life was just too full to put in the hours needed to get them going. I still don't have the time, but my desire to having them in place is surpassing my willing to keep working excessive overtime.

This is Phase 1... Actually more like Phase 0.5:

I have a very large group of very small fish coming in next week and this is what I have set up for them.

This is a drilled 20 gallon (20" long x 12" wide @ 16" tall - sideways) inside the 234 gallon (6' long x 2.5' wide @ 2.1' tall). On the left side is a Hamburg Mattenfilter (HMF). Behind the HMF is an Eheim 158 Gal pump that pulls water through the HMF, then up over the HMF, into the 20 gal, which runs through a sponge (sponge block for an AC110 with holes cut for the overflows fittings) before spilling back into the 234 Gal.
So the new fish will go in the 20 gallon and the 234 gal tank (which has around 100 gallons of water in it) will act as a pseudo sump for the 20 gallon.

The 234 Gal has a few green Cherry Shrimp and a group of Key Lime Green Endlers. Some Some new driftwood that needs saturating.

I'll elaborate more on the "big group of little fish" when they arrive... But a very gracious member of MFK ( Beani keeper ) has agreed to send me a full brood of Trimac Fry. Which I will grow out to eventually select the top tier male and a few top tier females. I'm dedicating two of these 234 gal tanks to this process.

 

[danotaylor]

Sounds like a fun project mate. The trimac fry will grow fast in your 234gal. Keep the updates coming

 

[jjohnwm]

Interesting set-up. I've done a similar thing many times with smaller tanks placed on top of larger ones (plywood) or on shelves directly overhead. Pump filtered water up into the small tank, then let it drain by gravity overflow back down to the large. You get the benefits of a smaller enclosure for small or delicate critters, combined with the stable water parameters of the big tank. Great for temporary accommodations, or even for permanent homes for some critters.

When I had marines many years ago, I discovered a tiny Mantis Shrimp in some live rock that came back in my luggage from Cuba. I set the little guy up in a 10-gallon on top of my prized 120-gallon marine tank, which was overgrown with Caulerpa algae and full of live rock. That shrimp lived there for several years; my friends always rolled their eyes when I referred to my 10-gallon shrimp tank with its 120-gallon sump.

Now, please explain something: how on earth can you have four brand new decent-sized tanks sitting unfilled and unused...for a year!!!...before the urge to set them up becomes overwhelming?

 

[Toby_H]

Now, please explain something: how on earth can you have four brand new decent-sized tanks sitting unfilled and unused...for a year!!!...before the urge to set them up becomes overwhelming?

It sure as heck wasn't a feat of personal patience.

I bought them in January/2025. Delivered in February/2025. Also in January/2025 we signed a contract with a new client that resulted in me working an average of 67.5 hours per week for the year of 2025. We finished the bulk of that contract in March/2026 and I went back to a normal work schedule.

So starting in March, we
~ added 3 circuits to my electrical panel
~ emptied half the fishroom (my "fishroom" is just an extra bedroom)
~ tore out the old closet and built a shelving system in that closet
~ painted half the fishroom with mold resistant paint
~ cut out carpet where one stand goes, sealed the concrete
~ installed the base for the bottom tank & stand
~ started building the stand for the first pair of tanks

That's when the timer went off and I had to get this tank ready for the TriBabies (see post in the SA/CA section).

Next on the list is:
~ move the 150 gal rubbermaid outside (tougher than it sounds, as it has to be insulated and heated to house Apistos. Yes I have a 150 gal Rubbermaid primarily housing Dwarf Cichlids.)
~ paint the quarter of the room the 150 gal currently occupies.
~ move the 90/75 gal to where the 150 gal currently is
~ paint the quarter of the room where the 90/75 currently is
~ cut out carpet where one stand goes, seal the concrete
~ install the base for the bottom tank & stand
~ Complete the stand I already started, get it in place
~ install the two tanks on that stand (which includes transferring the TriBabies to that side)
~ build & install the second stand (where the TriBabies are now)
~ install the 2 tanks on the second stand

And at that point the Fishroom will be complete with 4x 234 gal, 90 gal, 75 gal, 2x 20 gal, 2x 10 gal...
To make it more complicated, the two 20 gals and two 10 gals will each be plumbed into a 234 gal. So like you (JJohnWM), each of my 4 234 gal tanks will be a sump for either a 10 or 20 gal tank. These will be used as fry tanks, breeding tanks or hospital tanks as needed.


Then I have to break down the tanks that are in the living room and get those fish in the Fishroom...


Then I have to build a stand for a (5'x2.5'@2.1') 195 gal (which has also been in my garage for a year), which goes in the living room...


And at some point in all of that my niece is coming to visit and we are setting up two 40 gal tanks as water falls. I sealed a piece of glass over half the top (proven water tight) of both of them, allowing them to stand vertically on end. The "bottom" (previously the side) holds up to 16" of water and the "back" (previously the bottom) will be a water fall molded out of concrete. There will be switchbacks on each side of the waterfall with crevices and caves for Vampire Crabs. The waterfall will be 2' tall with a 1' deep (18"x16"@12" = 13 gallons) pool at the bottom with Cherry Shrimp & some small fish. These two vertical 40 gals will be on the top rack of a double 40 stand with a standard (horizontal) 40 gal below it (three 40 gals in total). The top two water fall 40 gals will be plumbed to use the bottom 40 gal as a sump.


Yes, I currently have all of the aquariums mentioned in all of the above. And resources allocated to build the stands. Though I'm lacking the time and the energy...
When I was young, I had all the energy in the world to do stuff like this, but didn't have the money to buy it.
Now I can afford to buy the materials but have found I lack the energy I once had to put these projects together.

 

[tankermanker]

It sure as heck wasn't a feat of personal patience.

I bought them in January/2025. Delivered in February/2025. Also in January/2025 we signed a contract with a new client that resulted in me working an average of 67.5 hours per week for the year of 2025. We finished the bulk of that contract in March/2026 and I went back to a normal work schedule.

So starting in March, we
~ added 3 circuits to my electrical panel
~ emptied half the fishroom (my "fishroom" is just an extra bedroom)
~ tore out the old closet and built a shelving system in that closet
~ painted half the fishroom with mold resistant paint
~ cut out carpet where one stand goes, sealed the concrete
~ installed the base for the bottom tank & stand
~ started building the stand for the first pair of tanks

That's when the timer went off and I had to get this tank ready for the TriBabies (see post in the SA/CA section).

Next on the list is:
~ move the 150 gal rubbermaid outside (tougher than it sounds, as it has to be insulated and heated to house Apistos. Yes I have a 150 gal Rubbermaid primarily housing Dwarf Cichlids.)
~ paint the quarter of the room the 150 gal currently occupies.
~ move the 90/75 gal to where the 150 gal currently is
~ paint the quarter of the room where the 90/75 currently is
~ cut out carpet where one stand goes, seal the concrete
~ install the base for the bottom tank & stand
~ Complete the stand I already started, get it in place
~ install the two tanks on that stand (which includes transferring the TriBabies to that side)
~ build & install the second stand (where the TriBabies are now)
~ install the 2 tanks on the second stand

And at that point the Fishroom will be complete with 4x 234 gal, 90 gal, 75 gal, 2x 20 gal, 2x 10 gal...
To make it more complicated, the two 20 gals and two 10 gals will each be plumbed into a 234 gal. So like you (JJohnWM), each of my 4 234 gal tanks will be a sump for either a 10 or 20 gal tank. These will be used as fry tanks, breeding tanks or hospital tanks as needed.


Then I have to break down the tanks that are in the living room and get those fish in the Fishroom...


Then I have to build a stand for a (5'x2.5'@2.1') 195 gal (which has also been in my garage for a year), which goes in the living room...


And at some point in all of that my niece is coming to visit and we are setting up two 40 gal tanks as water falls. I sealed a piece of glass over half the top (proven water tight) of both of them, allowing them to stand vertically on end. The "bottom" (previously the side) holds up to 16" of water and the "back" (previously the bottom) will be a water fall molded out of concrete. There will be switchbacks on each side of the waterfall with crevices and caves for Vampire Crabs. The waterfall will be 2' tall with a 1' deep (18"x16"@12" = 13 gallons) pool at the bottom with Cherry Shrimp & some small fish. These two vertical 40 gals will be on the top rack of a double 40 stand with a standard (horizontal) 40 gal below it (three 40 gals in total). The top two water fall 40 gals will be plumbed to use the bottom 40 gal as a sump.


Yes, I currently have all of the aquariums mentioned in all of the above. And resources allocated to build the stands. Though I'm lacking the time and the energy...
When I was young, I had all the energy in the world to do stuff like this, but didn't have the money to buy it.
Now I can afford to buy the materials but have found I lack the energy I once had to put these projects together.

how are you dealing with hard electrical stuff? using electrical services when you need them? i mean.. for me all the electrical stuff is hard.

 

[Toby_H]

how are you dealing with hard electrical stuff? using electrical services when you need them? i mean.. for me all the electrical stuff is hard.

I'm very fortunate in that area.
My father is a retired electrician, so he has an abundance of knowledge and plenty of free time. So I flew him down for a visit and put his butt to work for a week!
The same work could have been done by a handy homeowner or could be done by a low to mid level experienced electrician.
My panel had three empty slots, so we stuck three circuit breakers in the available slots (if we had to add a second panel that would have been a step up in money and knowledge required). Ran wires up into the attic, across to the FishRoom and dropped them down in the wall. In the FishRoom cut rectangles in the wall and installed the outlets.
It's not overly complicated. I could have done it on my own, but appreciated having someone more experienced to run the operation. It was also quality time with my dad. He's an 80 year old blue collar boomer, so working together is the best way to bond.
The hardest part of the whole operation was keeping the wires organized so we knew which outlets went to which circuits. He also knew exactly what we needed to buy, which saved me a few hours of Googling.

All that said... I've kept a lot of tanks at different periods without adding or changing any of the circuits in my homes. Heaters are the biggest draw and they aren't on all the time.
One of the only issues I had was I once had a FishRoom (spare bedroom) that shared a circuit with the guest bathroom. My ex used the hair drier in the guest bathroom. When she did it would trip the breaker if the heaters happened to be running. My solution was to put the heaters on the outlet connected to the light switch for that room. So she could flip the switch off, dry her hair, flip the switch on. Although what actually happened is... She'd flip the switch off, dry her hair, walk away and I'd come behind her and flip it back on.

Electrical work isn't that hard... But must be done precise. If we screw it up it can be devastating (fire). So don't hesitate to hire help if needed.